Tales of the Phantom Thieves
by Angel Ducktales 5
Summary: Join the amazing Phantom Thieves as they navigate day-to-day life while remaining secretive of their double life! Sounds cool until you realize the dangers of living such a thrilling life, but somehow, these guys make it work and look stylish while doing so! (The tales are actually an AU where after defeating the big bad, the Metaverse stays and a certain boy lived.)
1. Prologue: The Curtains Shall Rise

Hello, fellow chaps! My name is Angel and I'll be your personal narrator for whatever Phantom Thieves stories I can come up with!

As you can tell, I love stories and I especially love making them. But enough about me, the show's about to start!

And here comes Joker, swinging into the scene with his grappling hook and landing on center stage! Stylish entrances is definitely the name of Joker's game! Making conversations...not so much.

He seems to be staring at the audience with a blank look. Is he staring at our souls? I mean, there's no telling what he could do with his Persona powers after all. Little did we know that he's actually trying to decide on what to say...

_"...Hello."_

_"What's up?"_

_"Why am I here?"_

Finally, he decided to go on the simple, but formal route as he said, "...Hello."

"Cool greeting, but let me show you how a real greeting is done!" A rowdy-sounding voice echoed off from the right side of the stage before a blond-haired boy ran and slid down next to Joker. Ah, Skull. The phantom thief who tends to attract lots of attention. Being vulgar and loud might have to do something with that.

"Skull, I'm pretty sure Joker is trying to be a gentleman here. Don't you understand that?" Morgana sighed as he simply walked over to the group.

"Yeah, I know, but us Phantom Thieves should have style, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

"I don't know about you guys, but grace should definitely be in the Phantom Thieves' vocabularies." And there's Panther doing a flip into their view right as she said that. What a gracious fellow.

"Ah, that's quite an interesting way of observing our methods, Panther." Fox commented as he pirouettes into the scene. He may be an art prodigy, but his head can get stuck in the clouds most of the time...

"...Ok then. Now who else are we missing...?" Skull wondered. "A sensible teammate?" Queen stated, seemingly appearing out of the shadows. She's pretty much a teammate who keeps the whole team together. We always need a Queen in our lives to keep us from going too crazy...

At this point, Joker noticed the pattern and he silently wondered if more of his teammates will arrive in style. Sure enough, here comes Oracle, piloting her Necronomicon to the group and hovering above them. "Heyo, guys! Need a cool hacker to be in the introduction portion of the show?" She said with a smile. Oracle is an adorable geek who can get a bit impish at times...especially with Fox.

"Hm? I thought we weren't supposed to use our Personas until the appropriate time to do so." Fox scratched his head in confusion.

"Oh, well, my Persona is different since I actually have to pilot and stay in it so I can make full use of it."

"Whatever you say..."

Joker wondered if he should tell his teammates that now is a good time to unleash their Personas (since he's the one who told them to wait until the appropriate time) when Noir ran to them and took a few shaky breaths before catching her breath. "Sorry for being so late, guys! That is very unlike a phantom thief thing to do..." She apologized. Noir seems to be an innocent type, but don't cross her because otherwise, she'll show you her bloodthirsty side... Most Shadows sure learned that the hard way...

Joker got another choice of responses in his head...

_"What caused you to be late?"_

_"You ok?"_

_"It's alright."_

In the end, he felt very concerned for Noir's state, so he asked, "You ok?" Noir nodded as she replied, "Yes... Thank you for asking."

"No problem."

Then he looked around to see that seemingly the whole group is here. It's time... He signaled the group to bring out their Personas. "All right! Let's do this!" Skull cheered. Then they got into position.

**"Per..."**

**"SONA!"**

Some unknown voice finished the phrase off. Naturally, everyone looked to see the source of that voice, only to find...

_Crow?!_

He chuckled as he said, "Oh, sorry, did I interrupt your little practice session?" You would not believe how tense the atmosphere became after the reveal. He doesn't seem to be harming anyone at the moment though...

"W-What are you doing here?" Oracle asked. Deep down, she's feeling very nervous inside... Panther definitely shares this feeling as well, along with Noir. Queen tried her best to stand her ground with an intimidating feel, but of course, she's also holding her breath, wondering what to do next. Joker, Skull, Morgana, and Fox just stared at Crow in disbelief.

Crow bowed as he answered, "Oh, I'm just here to atone for my past sins...especially that one particular sin that I have committed." He glanced at Joker, who knew full well what he was talking about.

"Uh-huh... And how do you plan on doing that?" Panther questioned. Crow chuckled again, which doesn't everyone else's nerves. There's something about that chuckle that raises immediate suspicion...like he has some sort of secret plan or something like that. What if he wants to backstab the team again?

"Well, I plan to atone for my past sins...by rejoining your team," Crow began, "Will that be okay with you?"

The whole team gasped out of shock (except the usually silent Joker). "Aw, hell no! I'm not letting this shit happen again!" Skull exclaimed as he is about to attack Crow...until Joker held Skull's shoulder. He looked back with confusion. "Huh? What is it?"

Noir seems to pick up what's going on. "I think Joker wants to make the decision of letting Crow join or not..." She deduced. "Whoa. Are you sure, Joker?" Morgana inquired. Joker nodded and the humanoid cat sighed. "Ok then... I hope you know what you are doing."

Then Joker walked over to Crow and stood there, wrestling with what could be the biggest decision ever.

_"...Welcome back to the team."_

_"No way."_

_"What are your motives?"_

Cue a deep sigh from Joker as he stated, "...Welcome back to the team." Crow simply bowed as he said, "Thank you." Then he walked over to the group.

"...Ok then." Skull said before he and the whole group turned to the audience. "Anyways, together, we are the Phantom Thieves!"

Queen had a look of realization as she said, "Wait, if we are the Phantom Thieves... I don't think we're supposed to announce ourselves like that."

"...Oh shit. Let's get out of here, guys!"

And thus, they all use smoke bombs to escape the scene without us seeing it. Therefore, the introduction has reached its end.

...I bet you're wondering what would happen if Joker chose other dialogue options, huh? Well, allow me to show you, my friend!

**Dialogue Path #1**

_"...Hello."_

**"What's up?"**

_"Why am I here?"_

"My man! Now that's how you greet an audience!" Skull happily said as he eagerly slid into the scene.

_Or..._

_"...Hello."_

_"What's up?"_

**"Why am I here?"**

"Did you seriously forget what you just told us to do? We just greet the audience! That is all!" Skull stated. Then he tried to slide into the scene, but he trip and fell next to Joker instead. He really must have been off his game.

**Dialogue Path #2**

_"What caused you to be late?"_

_"You ok?"_

**"It's alright."**

Noir smiled at Joker in response. "Why, thank you, kind sir." Then she went over to the group.

_Or..._

**"What caused you to be late?"**

_"You ok?"_

_"It's alright."_

Noir took a deep breath. Something tells me that this explanation is going to take a long time to finish. "Well, I tried to finish up my breakfast, but I was in a rush, so I had to hold a toast in my mouth as I ran out the door and when I got to the cinema, the line was super long and then-"

"Ok, ok. I don't think we want to bore the audience here." Oracle commented. Noir smiled sheepishly as she walked over to the group.

**Dialogue Path #3 **

_"...Welcome back to the team."_

**"No way."**

_"What are your motives?"_

"Oh, but I insist. I'm trying to better myself, after all." Crow replied as he walked over to the group, Joker glaring all the while. He sure does have serious trust issues after that certain incident...

_Or..._

_"...Welcome back to the team."_

_"No way."_

**"What are your motives?"**

"Did you not just hear me? I need to atone for my past sins. That is all." He repeated as he walked over to the group. Joker scratched the back of his head with a sweat drop. If only he had listened better, he wouldn't have made a fool of himself.

And that is all! I hope you fellow chaps enjoy the introduction! And with that said...

**PERSONA!**


	2. Tale 1: Car Trouble

Hey! Angel here! And I'm back for the narrating gig! This time, I'm gonna narrate a series of adventures that the Phantom Thieves went through! Today, I'm going to narrate a small misadventure that heavily involves transportation troubles...

One day, Akira decides to hold a meeting in their good ol' hideout at Cafe Leblanc...once every customer left, of course. There's no way that you can hold a private meeting during the time when any random person could hear it, after all.

Once everyone gathered around at one of the booth tables, Akira puts his hand under his chin, as if thinking about what the meeting is about.

_"Let's go to Mementos and get more fighting experience."_

_"Let's go to Mementos and hear people's distorted thoughts."_

_"Let's just chat."_

"Soooo... What do ya plan for us?" Ryuji asked, very intent on hearing the answer. Everyone is just holding their breath out of anticipation.

Akira looked around at the whole group and then he said, "Let's go to Mementos and get more fighting experience." Everyone else seemed to agree with that plan. "Hey, that sounds pretty good! That would give us more tactical strategies once we get more experience! Good one, Akira!" Morgana approved.

Sojiro watched the whole conversation, happy to see that they are having fun hanging out with each other, especially after hearing Morgana's happy meowing (which happens to be around the same time when Morgana complimented Akita's plan). The guy always has the soft spot for animals. "These guys are having so much fun over there... I don't blame 'em. Today is a good day, after all..." He commented, mostly to himself.

**Later, at Mementos...**

The group is now in full phantom thief mode, ready to beat whatever Shadows may lurk in this area. Right now, the group is discussing about whether they should go after the easy-to-beat Shadows or the difficult ones.

"Strategically speaking, I think we should battle the easy ones. That way, we will easily get into the flow of the battle and the fight against the harder ones won't feel as overwhelming." Queen stated. "You gotta be kiddin' me! I say we go after the hard ones first. Show 'em who's boss, y'know?" Skull suggested. "Hmph... This is indeed a difficult decision..." Fox mused.

Morgana couldn't take the wait anymore. "Come on, let's just go with the flow and defeat whatever Shadow gets in our way!" He said as he transformed into his bus form. "Let's go!" No one said any more words as they got in the bus.

Joker took the wheel, as always. He had been nominated as the driver from the start. He just seems more experienced with that kind of stuff, somehow...

"Ready, Joker?" Morgana inquired as soon as everyone got in their seats.

_"Vroom, vroom."_

_"Ready as I'll ever be."_

_"How come I'm always driving?"_

Joker gave out a big, toothy smirk as he replied, "Ready as I'll ever be." Wow, when Joker is at his most confident, you can tell that things are going to get awesome. And Morgana seems to have that same feeling because he said, "Nice! Now, let's get going!"

And thus, the bus sped off through the halls of Mementos. This ride would have been super fun...if it weren't for Joker's rising confidence. Since he has been driving the bus for such a long while now, he felt like he can do no wrong when it comes to driving. Naturally, that leads him to becoming reckless and driving in so many risky ways. A very bumpy ride is a result of that.

"J-Joker? C-can you l-like s-slow d-down?" Panther requested. Others have similar concerns...even Skull, the regularly reckless guy. "D-dude, you coulda d-drive a l-little s-slower a-and the r-ride woulda been s-still fun!" He reassured. Strangely, Crow didn't seem bothered by this at all. He's just blissfully looking out of the window.

It got so bad that they ran into the Shadow, initiating a fight. And it's just their luck that it's a difficult Shadow to beat (not that Skull is complaining). "Prepare to get your ass kicked!" Skull taunted.

**After the battle...**

Everyone kept taking deep breaths after such a hard-fought battle. "Geez... Who knew that this guy has such high endurance stats? I wanna know his secret!" Oracle commented, feeling very curious about how it took a long time for the Shadow to die. "Hmm... Have you ever tried inflicting those useful 'stats' yourself?" Noir suggested. "Hey, that's a great idea! I'm gonna try that the next chance I get!" Oracle cheerfully responded.

"You guys sure take things the thrilling way, huh... You all are an interesting group of thieves..." Crow mused. "Gotta thank my dude Joker for givin' us most of those thrills." Skull said. "Yeah...but can you take it easy next time, Joker?" Panther asked.

Joker just meekly scratched his head with a sweat drop, now learning the lesson of not always taking the risky path... Sometimes, the safe path is the most fun, y'know?

And that marks the end of that particular misadventure! Now, I wonder how things would have gone if Akira picked different dialogue choices...

**Dialogue Path #1:**

_"Let's go to Mementos and get more fighting experience."_

**"Let's go to Mementos and hear peoples distorted thoughts."**

_"Let's just chat."_

Everyone looked at Akira as if he grew a second head. "...Damn. 'K then." Ryuji said. Besides his comment, there's only awkward silence. Despite that, they decide to go to Mementos anyways just so they can battle Shadows.

_Or..._

_"Let's go to Mementos and get more fighting experience."_

_"Let's go to Mementos and hear people's distorted thoughts."_

**"Let's just chat."**

"Swell idea!" Haru said. And thus, they began to chat all day, to the point that Sojiro will never get their chattering voices out of his head.

**Dialogue Path #2:**

_"Vroom, vroom."_

_"Ready as I'll ever be."_

**"How come I'm always driving?"**

"Well... I don't know, but well, you always gave us the smoothest rides, so..." Panther said, clearly having no idea what the team is in for. Joker merely shrugged in response. Oh boy.

_Or..._

**"Vroom, vroom."**

_"Ready as I'll ever be."_

_"How come I'm always driving?"_

"Choo-choo!" Oracle chimed in (who is known for imitating vehicle noises). "Guys, this is no time to play games! Let's go already!" Morgana scolded. "Aww, you're no fun, Mona..." Oracle complained. Joker shrugged, not caring much, as he speedily drove the bus through the halls of Mementos.

Well, that's all I have to offer for today. And with that said...

**PERSONA!**


	3. Tale 2: Curry Delivery Service

Hello, fellas! Angel the narrator is back to tell you more stories about the lives of the amazing Phantom Thieves! Today, I'm gonna tell a story about how one idea gets transformed into a business venture... Now, I only have a warning for you:

**Hope you don't get too hungry while reading this.**

Now, without further ado...

One rainy day, Sojiro is just grumpily standing near his usual spot in the cafe while Akira is working on making a coffee that should hopefully calm Sojiro down. All while Futaba is curiously watching them from the booth.

You see, a rainy day means that less customers will come to Leblanc. You can take a wild guess on how this affects Sojiro.

"Ugh, rainy days are the worst... Not to mention that the business has been going real slow lately thanks to so many rainy days... This sucks." Sojiro complained.

At this point, Akira has finished making the coffee and he gave it Sojiro. He graciously accepted the cup (although he's still scowling from that rainy day nonsense) and drank it.

"Ooh, nice! This shoulda calm him down for now!" Futaba stated and Akira happily nodded.

What they didn't notice was Sojiro's eyes widening after he finished drinking the coffee. It seems like something's on his mind... Could it perchance be somehow related to curry?

"Guys, I have an idea..." Sojiro began. Akira and Futaba looked over at the owner so they could listen intently. "What if I start a curry delivery business for those slow business days?"

"Ooh!" Futaba reacted in wonder while Akira thought up some possible reactions for himself:

_"Awwww, no. Here we go again."_

_"Sounds like a fascinating idea."_

_"Do I get paid for this?"_

Feeling more curious about how this works, he replied, "Sounds like a fascinating idea."

Sojiro smiled after hearing those enthusiastic responses. "Great! I have already made two curry meals here... Wait, where did that third curry meal come from?" He questioned as he pointed at the extra curry dish.

"Oh! Well, thanks to Akira, I know how to make one myself! Isn't that cool?!" She answered excitedly. Akira nodded in agreement. "Ah, I'm very proud of you, Futaba. It's nice to see you gain more and more confidence in yourself, especially thanks to Akira's help!" Sojiro nodded in approval.

"Mwehehehehe!" Futaba chuckled in her own signature way, which made Akira smile, mostly likely due to the endearing nature that comes from it.

"Ok, so, the plan for today is you'll be delivering these two curries to whoever you choose to deliver to. The third, you can eat as your lunch break. Futaba can be there to assist you if she wants to." Sojiro explained. "Sounds good to me! Right, Akira?" Futaba asked. Akira nodded to confirm this. "Great! See ya later!" Sojiro said as he waved. Akira and Futaba left, with Futaba bringing an umbrella (since it's still a rainy day) while Akira carries the curry dishes.

Akira suggested that they should try going to Takemi's clinic to see if she wants some and Futaba decided to go along with it. So that's how they're in the waiting room, waiting for Takemi to be finished with a patient who got a cold (take a wild guess on what caused said cold). They probably look silly, sitting down with some curry in the waiting room.

Once Takemi is done with said patient, she said, "Come in!" The pair did exactly that and once they are in the examination room, Takemi noticed the curry dishes and she said, "Oh, hello. What are you guys doing?"

"We're just selling delicious curry!" Futaba explained. "Really? How much does it cost to buy one?" Takemi asked.

Akira tries to come up with the amount of yen required for such a meal:

"_500 yen_."

_"1,000 yen."_

_"10,000 yen."_

He decided to find the middle ground and he said, "1,000 yen."

Takemi looked at the curry in thought. "Hmm... Alright, fair enough. I'll take it." She said after some consideration.

And thus, they successfully sold off the first curry to Tae Takemi. And for 1,000 yen, no less!

"Wow... This actually tastes pretty amazing!" She critiqued.

_Even better._

Akira and Futaba bid farewell to the doctor after that and then they went off to find their next customer. They thought that knocking on some random doors would be a good idea. And so they did exactly that.

It took a few attempts to find a customer that way (most of them weren't even home), but they found an occupied home. "Let me see if I can get them to buy this." Futaba said as she took a second curry and knocked on the door.

When the door got answered, the pair did not expect to find a seriously disheveled man with a beer gut. That's a bad sign that this guy is an alcoholic.

"Oh, so now you come back to me?! You should have known of that before you already completely ruined my life, Martha!" The drunk shouted.

That did not help Futaba's nerves at all. "U-Um... H-Hi, sir... M-May I interest you in selling you some curry?" She stammered. "Oh, so now you're trying to extort some money from me too?! That's it, I had enough of your manipulation!" The drunk screamed as he aimed a punch at Futaba.

Futaba braced herself, with some tears already leaving her eyes. Then, when she noticed that no punches haven't even touched her, she opened her eyes to see Akira holding the drunk man's arm back. He clearly has had enough with nasty people like him.

In fact, he only have one dialogue choice for such an event:

_**"Get out of my sight."**_

The drunk man had no choice but to stop. "Fine... You're lucky that you have some guy to protect you." He retorted. "Hey, he's not just 'some guy'! He's my key item!" Futaba refuted. Akira just glared at the drunk man while nodding. He isn't having any of his nonsense right now. Or ever, for that matter.

The drunk man grunted as, amazingly enough, he not only stopped, but he also paid for the curry! Since that man is so drunk though, he ended up paying A LOT for this. How much, you ask? 10,000 yen.

Ridiculous, right?

They aren't gonna complain though, especially after what just happened. So they walked back to Leblanc after that. It stopped raining at that point, leaving a semi-wet environment.

During the walk, Futaba remembered that they still have the extra third curry. "Hey, don't you think that now's a good time for your lunch break? You must be pretty hungry by now, huh?" She wondered as she looked up at Akira. To her surprise, he shook his head. "What? Wow, you must have impressive hunger endurance!" She exclaimed.

And as if on cue, HER stomach growled. She giggled, both out of embarrassment and amusement. "Heh, I see that the same cannot be said for me..." Then she smiled weakly at him, clearly trying to reassure him that she can stay strong. "Hehe, don't mind me... Just go ahead and enjoy the energy boost that you rightfully deserved." She insisted.

Akira simply stared at her...and then he passed the third and final curry to her. Futaba lightly gasped out of surprise. She didn't expect this kind gesture at all...but she happily accepts it. She scarfed down that curry like it's no tomorrow, leaving Joker to chuckle out of amusement during the rest of that walk.

Once they reached Leblanc (and Futaba finished her dish), she smiled at Akira. "Thank you... I actually haven't ate anything at all today...but this curry will now hold me over 'till dinner! Thanks, Akira!" She then hugged him to show how thankful she is for this deed. Of course, he hugged back.

Once they got inside Leblanc, Sojiro immediately asked, "So, how did it go?" "It went amazing! We earned 11,000 yen!" Futaba explained. "Whoa! How did you guys raise that much?!" Sojiro couldn't believe his ears. "Well, I guess we're just that good at selling curry door-to-door!" Futaba shrugged. "Huh... Well, I guess we can sell curry door-to-door from now on if business gets slow. Sounds good?" Both Akira and Futaba accepted this condition.

Later, Akira sat on his bed in his cafe attic bedroom, musing about something.

"Thinking about today again, huh?" Morgana said as the cat laid down next to him. "I bet you were thinking about how things would have gone if you worded things a little differently, am I right?"

Indeed, he is. That's exactly what Akira is doing right now...

**Dialogue Path #1: Curry Delivery Suggestion**

Akira felt like this idea isn't gonna go over well. Besides, he's in a snarky mood...

"Awwww, no. Here we go again."

Sojiro glared at him in response to that. "I'm not asking. We need to see if this works or not. Otherwise, we'll go out of business. You seriously want that?"

Welp, seems like Akira can't argue against that logic.

_Or..._

Akira felt like he's a little broke lately. It's only natural that he's going to say this next...

"Do I get paid for this?"

Sojiro sighed exasperatedly. "The customers will pay you, not me. Is that good enough for you?"

Akira shrugged, finding this a pretty alright deal.

**Dialogue Path #2: Yen Amount Clarification**

Akira felt REALLY generous today so he said...

"500 yen."

Takemi and Futaba looked at him in shock. "Are you serious? This feels like a steal and I feel bad stealing from children, so... 1,000 yen should be good enough."

Alright. Whatever she says. 1,000 yen is good enough anyways.

_Or..._

Akira felt like he needed to raise as much money as possible, which leads to this line...

"10,000 yen."

Takemi and Futaba gasped. "Are you serious? That's an outrageous prize! At least let me give you 1,000 yen!"

Akira shrugged as he accepted 1,000 yen from Takemi. Oh well.

After musing on those outcomes, Akira nodded happily. Today went pretty well, to say the least.

"Well, whatever happened today, I can tell that it went pretty good. Which is pretty awesome!" Morgana complimented. "Now, why don't you go to sleep? Rest is the most important thing to do, after all!"

Of course, he would say that.

Regardless, Akira complied and thus, the day came to an end.

And that's the end of this particular tale! I hope all of you enjoyed this one as much as I enjoy curry! And without further ado...

**PERSONA!**


	4. Tale 3: Brotherly Bonding

Hey, guys! Angel the narrator is back with the latest installment of these amazing Phantom Thieves tales! And today, I will tell the story that heavily relates to a sibling-like bond!

Also, Akira will have a little more personality, meaning that he will speak a little more than the choice dialogues from now on, and the choice dialogues will come when he has to make a choice. I feel like that would flesh out his character more, right?

Anyways, without further ado, let's tell this tale! ^^

Akihabara. One of the most liveliest locales you can find in Tokyo. It's pretty much a hub for technology shops and the like, along with a few other places that didn't quite fit in with the "tech" theme of the locale (like the maid cafe). All in all, it's a pretty amazing place. Akira would have known because he has been there multiple times.

He enjoys many things in Akihabara, even the maid cafe, where the maids usually botches his orders (having maximum kindness and charm might have something to do with him tolerating all of this). What can he say? Akihabara is fun personified!

He went to Mishima, who is currently standing near the district entrance. "Hello." Akira greeted, keeping it nice and simple. That caught Mishima's attention as he looked at Akira. "Oh, hi! I bet you wanna hear about how the Phansite is doing, huh?" He said, looking eager to share the news. A nod from Akira confirmed that he did want to hear whatever news and ideas Mishima has.

"Oh ok! Well, the Phansite has been doing very great! There's an even split between the supporters and the haters, but we can always only focus on the supporters, you know?" Mishima stated. Akira had to agree that it was true. What's the point of focusing on people who only spouts negative comments, after all?

"Oh, and I also have an idea for the Phansite! I'm going to start a blog there, detailing the adventures of the amazing Phantom Thieves! Along with a few other stuff too! What do you think?" Mishima asked with a hopeful smile.

And that's when Akira fiddles with a few choice sentences in his head...

"_This idea sucks."_

"_What a neat idea!"_

"_I'm not so sure about this..."_

After thinking about this, Akira thought that this idea might have some great merits, especially when it comes to spreading the word about the Phantom Thieves in a positive light. So he said:

"What a neat idea!"

Mishima smiled even more at the kind response. "Oh, really? Thank you so much! I promise you that I won't let you down!" He proclaimed.

It warms Akira's heart to see that Mishima's motivation grew more from this interaction. Then he walked to the Gigolo Arcade and went inside.

The arcade is kind of packed today... Despite that, Akira made his way over to the Gun About game without much trouble. Once he got there, he saw a little boy playing Gun About with such accuracy and speed that would impress anybody watching him...which would make most of the people in the arcade.

Once Akira got to the front of the crowd, he saw the little boy successfully completing the round of the game. The crowd cheered, of course.

"Wow, the King still got it!"

"And with no signs of slowing down, no less!"

"I think it's safe to say that he will be hailed as one of the greatest gamers ever!"

Akira smirked, knowing who the little boy is. Happy to see the fellow gamer get his well-deserved praise, he went over to congratulate him.

"Hello, Shinya. Nice work." Akira complimented as he stood next to him. Shinya turned to look at Akira, beaming with pride. "Heh, thanks! You're actually getting better yourself! I can see you improving wildly during our recent practices!" Shinya replied.

Akira suddenly got an idea in his head. He's trying to figure out which idea is it...

"_Let's look up cheats!"_

"_Let's buy a game guide!"_

"_Let's play a round of Gun About!"_

Ah, there's an idea he's looking for. He quickly blurted it out before he forgets it again:

"Let's play a round of Gun About!"

Shinya smirked after figuring out what Akira is getting at. "Ah, I see! You wanna test your skills, huh? Well, let's go!" He said.

And thus, the two began to play one round of Gun About. Here's how the match generally went:

Akira shot at an enemy first, showing off his speed.

"Whoa! Since when did you shoot so fast, bro?"

Shinya felt bewildered by the speed, but that doesn't deter him from shooting down three enemies in perfect arcs, showcasing the fantastic accuracy.

"Take notes!"

Akira nodded as he tried the same thing, but he only got two enemies, missing one in that arc.

"Ooh, that must have stung. There's still hope though!"

He's totally right about that. Especially after they beat all the enemies in the game with their teamwork.

Shinya twirled the gun controller in his hand as the crowd cheered once more. "Wow, I see that you're getting better and better! As an expert Gun About player and mentor, I'm proud of you!" Akira gave a small smile in return. "Thank you." He responded. He's starting to feel that his time with Shinya is well-spent.

"Ah, I take it that you two have some sort of a sibling-like relationship?"

The two turned around to see who said that.

_The person who said that turned out to be Goro Akechi._

The teen detective walked up to Akira and Shinya, wearing a pleasant smile like always. Being polite is definitely his forte.

Akira wondered what Akechi is doing here though. Thankfully, the question got answered for him. "If you're wondering, I'm just exploring the arcade." Akechi said.

Sounds like a good enough reason to Akira.

Akechi isn't done though. "I can't help but notice you two having fun, playing this wondrous game. Mind if I join?"

Now Akira is wondering what to do with Akechi here...

"_We don't mind at all."_

"_We truly do mind. A LOT."_

"_Can you give me a minute to think about this?"_

Well, bonding with Akechi would never hurt, right? So he had this to say:

"We don't mind at all."

"You mean it? I'm truly honored, Akira." Akechi happily responded. Akira could have sworn that he saw Akechi's smile grow more after his choice of response. A surefire sign that his bond with Akechi is increasing.

"Yeah! Come here and see if you can beat me at this game!" Shinya challenged Akechi. "Oh? Well, we'll see about that." The detective took the challenge.

Akira stepped aside and watched as Akechi and Shinya battled against each other on Gun About. Here's how it generally went:

"Oh dear, my accuracy is a bit of a liability here..."

"Makes it much easier for me! Here comes the pain!"

**POW!**

And there goes Akechi's character.

"Welp... Wanna try again?"

"I don't see why not. Let's give this another try."

The next few games bring out the same results...but Akechi's skill is slowly improving, to the point that Shinya noticed the improvement.

"Wow, you almost headshotted me! I can tell that you have potential to be a very good Gun About player!" Shinya complimented. "You did great." Akira joined in with the compliment of his own.

"Ah, thank you very much. I feel very flattered, but I must be going now-"

That's when Shinya gave Akechi a fist bump, with Akira following with the same brotherly gesture. Akechi realized that he's now part of the brotherly relationship that Akira and Shinya share. He found that moment to be the most heartwarming moment that ever happened to him in his entire life. Then he looked at the duo with a warm smile that could melt even glaciers.

"I must thank you with all of my heart for letting me be the part of your brotherly bonding. I deeply appreciate the gesture." Akechi expresses his gratitude. "You're welcome." Akira said while Shinya replied, "No problem!"

And thus, after such a sweet interaction, the three part ways, with Shinya going home, Akechi going to the hotel, and Akira going to Leblanc.

Once Akira entered the homely cafe, Futaba greeted him at the entrance. "Yo! How are you, Akira?" She asked, wondering how he's doing due to her increasing care for him. "Oh, I'm doing great. I played with Shinya and Akechi at the arcade." Akira explained. "Ooh, really? Awesome! I bet you guys had lots of endless possibilities for fun there!" She gushed.

Indeed. Speaking of possibilities, Akira thought of how things might have gone if he had said different things...

**Dialogue Path #1: Blog Promo Acceptance**

Akira felt like this Phansite Blog wouldn't benefit them at all...

"This idea sucks."

Of course, Mishima frowned at this response...but then a smile returned to his face. "You know, I think you're providing me motivation by saying stuff like this...not to mention that you're also preparing me for the haters' comments! Heh, thanks, Akira! I won't let you down!"

Wow, what an optimistic fellow.

_Or..._

Akira has no idea how Mishima's idea would go...

"I'm not so sure about this..."

"Oh, don't worry! You'll be very sure that I made a great decision once you see this blog!" Mishima reassured.

Well, if he says so...

**Dialogue Path #2: A Gamer Idea**

Akira felt like an easy way out should be necessary when it comes to his gaming skills...

"Let's look up cheats!"

Shinya raised an eyebrow at him. "You serious? Don't you remember what we learned in the past? Cheaters never prosper!"

Welp, he's not wrong...

_Or..._

Akira felt like reading is more of his strong suit...

"Let's buy a game guide!"

As you might expect, Shinya raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure that's how you want to spend your afternoon? You sure you don't want to play Gun About with me instead?"

Akira shrugged, now feeling indecisive all of a sudden...

**Dialogue Path #3: The Inclusion/Exclusion of Goro Akechi **

Despite everything they've been through (including Akechi promising to atone for his past misdeeds and rejoining the Phantom Thieves a while ago), Akira still feels distrustful of Akechi...

"We truly do mind. A LOT."

Akechi gasped, not expecting the rudeness coming from Akira. "I...I can't believe it. Despite your impolite nature, I will join in." He said with a bit of an irritated tone.

Welp, the tension in the atmosphere is so think that you can cut it with a knife.

_Or..._

Akira isn't very sure on what to say yet...

"Can you give me a minute to think about this?"

This only puzzled Akechi. Thus, Shinya has to reply. "It's alright, dude. You can join in. Akira just can't decide anything." He said.

Akira raised an eyebrow at this while Akechi shrugged as he joined in. Talk about an awkward atmosphere.

"Well, whatever you guys did, I bet all of you had a great time with each other, huh?" Futaba's question interrupted Akira's thoughts. He looked at her and gave her a sweet smile.

"Yes, very much so."

That made Futaba share Akira's smile as he headed up to bed before Morgana had a chance to notice his presence and give off his infamous bedtime reminder.

And that is all for this sweet tale! I hope you fellows enjoy having your hearts melted!

And with all that said...

**PERSONA!**


	5. Tale 4: A Quest For Crepes

Heyo! Angel the narrator is back at it again! I'm currently breaking out of my hiatus and I'm making great progress! I already dropped two stories on other Aminos this week! And today, this beloved Amino gets a turn with this tale! Wish me luck on making more progress! ^w^

Anyways, with the next installment of the Phantom Thieves' awesome tales, I'm going to make things more interesting! We're not just going to focus things from Akira's perspective...but we're also going to focus on the rest of the Phantom Thieves' point of view as well! All the members will get the spotlight, even to the point where they get their own dialogue options!

And in this particular tale, Ann tries to succeed in her simple quest to get her favorite treat, but she ends up discovering that this seemingly simple quest will lead to something bigger and unexpected...

Time seems to be moving real slow for Ann here. She's currently in the last class period before school lets out for a day. And right now, she's bored out of her mind, just vacantly staring into space while nothing's happening in the last few minutes of class.

She glanced behind her, and as expected, Akira is on the seat behind her, using his phone yet again. It must have taken quite a lot of guts to do this constantly while the teacher is present. It's no easy feat, that's for sure.

Another minute has passed. Ann thinks she's going to die from boredom any minute now...

**BRIIIIING!**

Saved by the bell! Looks like Ann won't die from boredom after all!

She immediately zoomed out of the door and out of the school as soon as she got a chance to! "Whoa, what's up with her?" She heard a random passerby say, but she didn't care. She's more focused on the more important objective, the reason why she's very anxious right now:

**Get the double chocolate crepes before it gets sold out for a day.**

Now, this may sound like a mundane—and very ridiculous—objective, but to Ann, it'll be the end of the world if she doesn't get any double chocolate crepes today. You see, she didn't have any of those for a while now and she would rather not go into double chocolate crepe withdrawal. It's a fate worse than death, don't you see?

The path to the objective is simple: Get out of the current district and go to the Shibuya district, get to Central Street, and obtain her delicious prize there. This should be easy, right?

Well, as you might have guessed, it's anything but.

As it turns out, the train station is very crowded today. Children and teens run amok, adults are just anxiously bustling about, and seniors leisurely strolled through the crowd as if there's no huge crowd waves around them. Talk about a huge contrast of the age groups.

Ann did her best to get through the crowd without any trouble. It almost felt like an obstacle course of people...and the double chocolate crepes are the beloved prize.

Luckily, she made it to the train and even more luckily, she found an open seat on the train. She quickly sat down on it before anyone else could take it. With this kind of lucky streak, she shouldn't ever have to worry about getting the double chocolate crepes on time!

And with that, the train ride went on in an uneventful way...

_...until an old lady approached Ann._

Ann looked up at her with a mild surprise. "Umm... Can I help you?" She asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, well, I'm just looking for an open seat in this crowded train. Would you mind if you can give this seat to me?" The old lady asked.

Ann's mind desperately racked up for the most appropriate answer to that...

_"Sorry, but this seat's taken."_

_"Sure, feel free to take a seat here!"_

_"Umm... LOOK, AN ALIEN!"_

She decided to go with her gut feeling. Hopefully, this will go well:

"Sure, feel free to take a seat here!"

And to show that she made a strong resolve on that decision, she began to sit up from the seat a little bit, although not too much, in order to prevent any potential squatters from stealing the seat.

The old lady seems to be pleasantly surprised by this action and then she replied, "Why, thank you, dearie!" Then she reached over to the seat and Ann moved out of the way so the old lady would be able to sit down on the seat.

Once she did, the old lady smiled at Ann. "I cannot thank you enough for this selfless action." She said with such a grateful tone.

"Oh, it's nothing, really! All I did was give you a seat on a subway train..." Ann responded with a sheepish smile, not sure on how that action is worthy of praise.

"Actually, on the contrary, selfless actions like this are very rare. This world needs more people like you!" The old lady explained.

Ann's eyes widen a little. "Oh, I see! Well, in that case, I agree with you!" She replied with a nod.

"You know what? Let me repay you with...500 yen!" The old lady offered as she handed 500 yen to Ann.

Ann took 500 yen wordlessly, most likely because she's at a loss for words. "W-What..?"

"Don't worry, I insist! I figured that you deserve it for such a nice deed!" The old lady explained as she smiled docilely.

"O-Oh! Well, thank you very much!" Ann happily replied as she pocketed 500 yen.

"You're very welcome, dearie!"

And with that, the rest of the ride to the Shibuya district continued to go on uneventfully, but this time, Ann now has a good feeling in her heart after what just happened.

After the train stopped at the Shibuya district, Ann quickly got out of the train...and is shocked to see that the train station in that district is even more crowded than the other district!

Ann only has one thought that describes her feelings about this crowd situation right now:

_"I don't know why, but I feel that a crowd this big would be posing as a public safety hazard here..."_

She shook her head. This is no time to think about this right now. It's time to use the power of the heart and walk through this crowd with little issue! This will be like a final obstacle course before she can get to a promised land of crepes!

_Ready..._

_**Get set...**_

_**GO!**_

She immediately rushed through the crowd, being careful not to bump into anyone in the process. It's not easy, but it's going well so far...

...Hey, she's actually getting close to the end. She might even make it!

"HEY, there's Mika! She's in the train station right here! I'm gonna take a picture of her!"

That comment from a random passerby caused everyone to rush inside the train station, pushing Ann back, little by little. Talk about straight up pandemonium.

Ann struggled more and more, trying to push past a huge sea of people, feeling that she's getting further and further from her goal...

_"No! I will not let it end like this! I must keep on going!"_

Using the strength of her heart and her willpower, she kept on pushing past the huge crowd that keeps on coming. No matter how much they keep on coming, Ann kept getting closer and closer to the exit...

She managed to push past the final wave of people and she ran out of the train station. She took many deep breaths, not expecting such an arduous task. It's kinda funny and ridiculous that she has to go through all that, just to reach her destination, but whatever. She made it, and that's all that matters!

After all that, it's smooth sailing from here. She walked through the pathway from Station Square to Central Street.

Once she made it to Central Street, she made a beeline for her favorite crepe stand, which is located right near the entrance. As soon as she got to that crepe stand, she immediately ordered, "Two double chocolate crepes, please!"

The shopkeeper sadly shook her head as she answered, "I'm sorry, but we are out of double chocolate crepes today."

Ann's eye twitched, as she started to lose her composure, while she came up with some responses for this situation...

_"I guess I'll be going then..."_

_"This is not my favorite crepe stand anymore!"_

_"Alright, are there any other crepes available?"_

She took a few deep breaths, regaining her composure, and then she decides to say this:

"Alright, are there any other crepes available?"

"Actually, there are no other crepes available too." The shopkeeper answered while shaking her head again.

Ann took on a shocked expression as she gasped. "No way! Even the Brussels sprout crepes?!"

The shopkeeper nodded grimly. "Even the Brussels sprout crepes."

"Unbelievable..." Ann commented, acting as if eating that particular crepe was supposedly a huge achievement.

"I know, right? It's as if someone brought out the whole stock...either that, or they could have stolen those crepes." The shopkeeper theorized.

That's when Ann gained a look of resolve in her eyes. She knew what had to be done. "I'll keep a look out if anything happens." She offered, many drips of determination evident in her voice.

"Alright, thanks. Let me know if anything weird happens, m'kay?"

Ann nodded to show that she understood, and with that, she walked down the street, currently in puzzle about this whole situation.

Why would they even steal all the crepes? And what's their ulterior motive? The obvious answer would be that they wanted to gorge themselves on crepes like the gluttonous monster they are, but somehow, that didn't seem right to Ann. If that were the case, then how come Ann saw a full stock of other crepes when she checked the crepe stand for her favorite treat yesterday?

_"Hmm... Something bigger is going on here."_

She continued to walk down the street, thinking up some more theories, when...

"Hey there, beautiful."

Ann inwardly groaned as she turned to see that the one who catcalled her is the creepy-looking man, who is standing next to another creepy-looking man. She's starting to get tired of getting catcalled because of her looks...

"You may call me Hashadi. My colleague here is named Sako." The first creepy-looking man explained with an unsettling grin.

Ann groaned as she replied, "I don't give a crap about your names!" She's definitely not having this nonsense.

"That's fine. Our names are not important right now. The more pressing matter at hand is this." Hashadi said as he signaled Sako to bring in the wheelbarrow...which is full of every kind of crepes!

Ann gasped upon seeing this. "So, it was you..." She trailed off...before showing lots of anger on her face. "Bring these crepes back to where they belong! RIGHT! NOW!"

Hashadi shook his head while chucking. "Nope! Not until you accept my deal!"

Ann clenched her fists as she shouted, "I'm not accepting any damn deals from you, you scumbag!"

That only made Hashadi chuckle more. "That's a shame, because this deal is quite simple. Just come with me while Sako hands the crepes back to where they belong. Isn't that what you wanted?" He said with a dirty sneer.

Ann looked down at the ground with a frown. They're not even trying to hide their disgusting intentions. This should be a no-brainer, but...

_"Goodbye then."_

_"No, screw you!"_

_"Fine, I'll go with you._

After lots of careful consideration, she took a deep breath. This isn't going to be easy, but...here goes nothing:

"Fine, I'll go with you."

Hashadi laughed and then he sneered again. "Now that's a good girl." He commented before looking over at Sako and saying, "Sako, go ahead and bring those crepes back. Make sure that shopkeeper doesn't suspect you as a thief though."

Sako nodded while laughing maniacally (which DEFINITELY makes him susceptible, by the way) and then he pushed the wheelbarrow on the way to the crepe stand.

After that, Hashadi grinned at Ann as he said, "Now, let's go in and discuss about this in more intimate terms, yes?"

Ann only shook her head as she followed Hashadi in the alley.

_What follows after that...wasn't pretty._

Lots of punching and angry screaming ensued. Honestly, it's hard to tell who's winning and who's losing...

...but then a sound of a man screaming echoed in the alley shortly after.

Ann took lots of deep breaths as she looked down at an unconscious form of Hashadi on the ground. It turns out that Ann won that fight, and with barely any worse for wear, to boot (her hair is a little messed up)!

Then she smirked. Turns out that her plan worked after all. After that, she ran out of the alley and she quickly ran to the crepe stand.

As soon as she got there, the shopkeeper said, "Are you the one who made that horrid man give back the crepes?"

Ann wearily nodded and then the shopkeeper said, "Wow, for real?! Thank you so much! I cannot thank you enough on this outstanding feat!"

"Heh, don't mention it." Ann replied with a smile.

"Hmm... Oh, I know what I can do to repay you! The double chocolate crepes are now free for you! But only for today!" The shopkeeper excitedly explained.

"Understandable! I'll take two double chocolate crepes!" Ann replied.

And with that, Ann is now sitting in the table near the crepe stand, and she is about to enjoy the first double chocolate crepe, but before she'll do that, she decides to muse on how the outcomes would have gone if she had went with different choices...

_**Dialogue Path #1: A Common Good Deed**_

Ann felt like she deserved some rest after a hard school day, so she had this to say...

"Sorry, but this seat's taken."

The old lady frowned at this. "Oh, I see..." Then she just turned around and stood there forlornly for the rest of the trip.

Yup, Ann's definitely on that guilt trip.

_Or..._

In a heat of the moment, Ann said this...

"Umm... LOOK, AN ALIEN!"

"WHERE?!" The old lady suddenly yelled as she turned around, allowing Ann to slip away and a random man to sit in her place.

Once the old lady turned back around, she saw the man sitting there...and what's her reaction?

"OH DEAR, you're that alien she was talking about! You'll never take me alive!"

She then took out her cane and she swung it at the man's head, effectively knocking him out.

Ann cringed, knowing this trip is going to be awkward for everyone involved...

_**Dialogue Path #2: Out Of Stock?!**_

Ann sighed, knowing what to say to that...

"I guess I'll be going then..."

And with that, she just walked off. It turns out that she went all this way for nothing...

_Or..._

She growled angrily, feeling grumpy enough to say this...

"This is not my favorite crepe stand anymore!"

After saying that, she kicked the crepe stand sign down, losing herself in a fit of rage.

"Hey, don't make me call the cops on you, young woman!" The shopkeeper threatened. That made Ann run away from the scene, not wanting to deal with any of this. Welp, that was a total fail...

_**Dialogue Path #3: A Risky Decision **_

Ann knows that accepting Hashadi's deal would be very dumb, but what else could she do? Therefore, she said...

"Goodbye then."

Then she ran off from Central Street. From this day forward, she doesn't want to go there again in fear of encountering these creepy guys...

_Or..._

Ann has had enough of their crap. It would be only natural that she would reply with this...

"No, screw you!"

Then she aimed a huge punch at Hashadi's face and it landed, knocking him out.

Sako ran away out of fear, making Ann grin triumphantly, happy that she managed to beat the creepy guys...

...that is, until the handcuffs was suddenly slapped onto her hands.

"Wait, what?!" Ann exclaimed as she looked over to see a police officer behind her.

"Ma'am, you are arrested for assaulting these poor men." The police officer said.

"What?! Didn't you see what these"poor men" tried to do to me?!" She replied in an outraged tone.

"Yeah, tell it to the judge." The police officer said, taking Ann away from Central Street. She's definitely in trouble now...

After thinking about the outcomes, Ann sighed in relief, happy that she's finally done with this situation.

Then she looked over to see Shiho sitting down next to her. "Oh hello, Shiho! How are you?" She asked.

"I'm doing good, how about you?" Shiho replied with a smile.

"Oh, I'm doing fine myself! Hey, would you like a double chocolate crepe?" Ann offered.

"Oh, sure." Shiho accepted. Ann then handed over one double chocolate crepe to her and after that, they both enjoyed their treat together. Ann especially enjoyed the sweet victory after everything she went through.

Little did they both know though, Sako is watching them both from a dark alley, and then he looked over at an unconscious Hashadi. "Our Lord is not going to be happy that our plan failed..." He lamented before dragging Hashadi back to some hidden hideout in an unknown part of the city...

Phew, that was quite a tale that I wrote up! This actually took me almost all day to write, but I'm glad that I finally finished it! I hope you guys enjoyed the start of a thrilling arc! And without further ado...

**PERSONA!**


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